


Something's Gotta Give

by scb17



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, Figure Skating RPF, Olympics RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-14
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-02-21 03:13:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2452652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scb17/pseuds/scb17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie transferring to Meryl's school seems like a good idea, until it proves to be the exact opposite.</p>
<p>~~time period-Meryl and Charlie in high school~~</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fear Of The Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I *know* I have to update For Now, For Always at some point but this prompt has been stuck in my head for a while now. So I'll update this one and For Now, For Always as frequently as I can, and Through Thick And Thin will only be updated if I have a prompt ready (which at the moment I don't).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie transferring to Meryl's school seems like a good idea, until it proves to be the exact opposite.  
> ~~time period-Meryl and Charlie in high school~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I *know* I have to update For Now, For Always at some point but this prompt has been stuck in my head for a while now. So I'll update this one and For Now, For Always as frequently as I can, and Through Thick And Thin will only be updated if I have a prompt ready (which at the moment I don't).

           "You're coming _where_?" Meryl Davis asked her ice dance partner, nearly choking on her gum.

"Your school!" And exuberant Charlie White repeated, in case she hadn't heard him. "Isn't it great?"

           "Great?" Meryl spat. "Great?! No! Why would it be great!"

"Well...we can hang out more outside the rink!" Charlie attempted. Other than Meryl, he didn't have many friends, partially because he was an introverted nerd, and partially because he was a figure skater.

           Meryl smiled as sweetly as she could muster. "Charlie. Trust me. My school is _not_ the place to hang out more. If you want we can go for frozen yogurt on Friday."

"No! Well, yes, I want frozen yogurt but no! Meryl, I'm sick of my school. All the people I was friends with there were on the team. They don't talk to me much anymore since I started caring more about ice dance than hockey."

           "Why exactly _do_ you like ice dance better than hockey?" Meryl asked.

 _Because I get to skate with you,_ he thought, his cheeks turning red. _Dammit Charlie, no. Don't think like that. Don't_ ever _think like that_. "Dunno. Just do, I guess," he finally said nonchalantly with a shrug.

           Meryl raised an eyebrow as if to say 'I know you're lying' but instead asked, "Okay, but still, who the hell transfers senior year?"

Charlie shrugged again. "It's now or never."

           "Never would've been better," Meryl mumbled under her breath.

"Look if you don't want me there, then just don't talk to me at school! You can pretend like you don't even know me, it's fine." Charlie tried to hide how much it hurt him that she didn't want him with her, but she caught it anyway, though she pretended not to.

           "No, no, it's not that! I promise! I love hanging out with you! It's just...my school can be....pretty intense. We have a rival school and sometimes the students cause a lot of problems with our students. And they target almost anyone. They almost got Tessa the year she and Scott transferred."

Charlie shrugged it off. "Okay so I'll be cautious. I'll watch my back, I'll pick and choose my friends carefully." Charlie saw Meryl's worried brow and instinctively put a warm, reassuring hand over hers. "Mer. Don't. Worry. We still have a month before school starts you shouldn't be worrying about anything right now! Except getting our programs down. Because for once, I think I have them down better than you," he teased proudly.

           Meryl snorted and elbowed him in the chest. "Shut up, Chuck," she said with a laugh. Secretly, she was almost glad Charlie was transferring. She could use a friend there. A _real_ friend. Not a friend who didn't understand why she couldn't ditch practice on Friday night to go to a party, why she couldn't host a party at her house even though her parents were out of town at a hockey tournament with Clayton. The only people who understood what her life was like were Tessa and Scott. But Tessa was in a grade below her, and Scott was constantly teasing her about Charlie or asking her for answers on the French homework which he never did (which Meryl thought was a little sad, considering he was _Canadian_ for God's sake.) And the times that she was with both Tessa and Scott outside of practice was spent by her awkwardly trying to make conversation while Tessa and Scott practically undressed each other with their eyes. Don't get her wrong; Meryl Davis had a ton of friends. Hell, she was one of the most popular girls in school, and she was actually a fucking nice person, unlike some of her friends, who were nice to Meryl, but not the rest of the school.

Yeah, you could say Meryl was highly loved by everyone, but that was the problem. She had it all: good grades, lots of friends, good looks, and a really cute and funny partner, even though hardly anyone knew anything about him or even what he looked like. It wasn't like they cared to know, anyway. Meryl was lonely in a life full of people and constant movement. But she would never admit it to anyone, especially Charlie. So maybe having Charlie with her wouldn't be so bad. Maybe it would actually be a good thing. It was going to be, she told herself, the best thing to happen to her since she and Charlie were paired up together.

 

At least that's what she hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, I know, but it's only the intro :)


	2. Great Expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meryl and Charlie's first day of school brings up a lot of uncertainty about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will probably be every few days, since the beginning chapters are always hard for me to write. Once I get into the swing of things, I promise they'll be pretty frequent.
> 
> Also, the end notes that I had on Chapter 1 seem to have copied onto this one even though I deleted and reposted the chapter...so just ignore it.

"Mer, you just passed Charlie's school," Scott pointed out. It had been the first time he had looked away from Tessa since they all piled into Meryl's car half an hour earlier.

Meryl stomped on the break, sending all four of them forwards. "Charlie!" She hissed. "You didn't tell them?"

           "Tell us what?" Tessa asked, closing her tiny mirror she carried around with her 24/7.

Charlie bit his lip awkwardly and shifted in the passenger seat to look at the two expectant faces. "I...transferred."

           Tessa cocked her head to the side. "Oh? Where?"

Scott elbowed her. "Our school, smart one," he muttered.

           Tessa's jaw dropped, before she closed it, and opened it once more to say, "Seriously? Are you stupid?"

"That's what I said!" Meryl exclaimed.

           "Did you--" Tessa began.

"Yes I did," Meryl nodded. "Told him all about the school and the troublemakers. Still insisted. At least he didn't transfer there."

           "I'm right here, you know," Charlie finally spoke up.

"Crap, we're gonna be late," Meryl exclaimed, ignoring Charlie. Meryl pushed down on the pedal and her three passengers jerked forward once again.

* * *

 When they arrived, a swarm of girls flocked over to Tessa, squealing. Tessa squealed back, with equal or possibly higher volume. Charlie heard bits of "How was your summer?" and "Oh, my God, you and Scott didn't do it, did you?"

           Charlie raised his eyebrows awkwardly and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. _I guess those are her friends_ , he thought. He looked over to his left where a group of jocks came over to Scott, and Scott high-fived each one. Charlie noticed Scott tap Tessa on the waist, and Tessa patted his hand before Scott left with his group.

Turning to the right, he saw a group of girls walk down the hallway. Everyone moved out of their way, and that was when Charlie realized they were walking straight towards Meryl, who was innocently talking to Bree, who from Tessa's description that morning, was the school geek. Luckily for her, Charlie had transferred.

Charlie had half the mind to warn Meryl, but by the time he built up the courage, the girls were already standing in front of her.

           "Um, excuse me," the one in the front said snottily. "Why are you talking to Meryl?"

"Oh, no," Meryl began, defensively. "Michelle, it's okay."

           "No, Meryl," Michelle continued. "It's not. We can't have geeks like her talking to people like us."

Meryl sighed. "See you later, Bree," Meryl said apologetically.

 _That's really unlike her_ , Charlie thought. _Oh crap, wait, where do I go? What do I do?_

Before Charlie had time to panic, he saw Meryl hop back over to him. "Just hang in there till lunch. You're first class is English. I'll see you there," she whispered.

           Thank God Charlie had Meryl; he didn't trust himself to find his way in a school as big as hers. Well, theirs.

 

           "Mr. White," the English teacher, Mr. Harrison, called as Charlie entered the room. "So nice of you to join us."

Charlie could hear Michelle snorting in her spot in the front, and he internally rolled his eyes. "Uh, sorry. I got.... lost."

           Mr. Harrison adjusted his position on his desk. "I'm sure a smart boy like you can manage his way around a high school?"

"My old school was a lot smaller," Charlie said simply, not wanting to get on his teacher's bad side on the first day.

           Mr. Harrison stared at him blankly and clicked his tongue before stating, "You can take a seat next to Ms. Davis, or do you need a map for that too?"

The class stifled laughter, but Charlie smiled innocently, saying, "Oh, I think I'll be okay with this one." Charlie walked past Mr. Harrison's widened eyes and took his seat next to Meryl, who was intently focused on her fresh notebook.

           "Okay, class," Mr. Harrison declared, trying to pretend that nothing had happened. "I figured you all are pretty fed up with British literature by now." The class groaned in confirmation. "So today, I thought we'd read something Persian."

Michelle raised her hand. "Mr. Harrison, this is _English_ class."

           "The story isn't in Persian, Michelle, it's from Persian origin." The class laughed. Michelle scowled. " _One Thousand And One Nights_ ," Mr. Harrison began, as Meryl's and Charlie's eyes lit up, "is about a powerful king who would marry a new virgin everyday, sending his previous wife to be beheaded. This was out of anger, because his first wife had been unfaithful."

Scott raised his hand. "Wasn't he the king of England in the 1500s?"

           "No, Scott, that was Henry VIII," Mr. Harrison replied with a chuckle. "Now Scheherazade was a young girl who, against her father's wishes, volunteered to spend the night with the king—"

“Like a one-night stand?” Fedor asked from his seat behind Meryl, smirking. Meryl rolled her eyes. How was Fedor still in high school? Yeah, the system was different in Russia, but was he that stupid? How many times had he repeated senior year? She didn’t even know.

           Mr. Harrison rolled his eyes. “A term I'm sure you're quite familiar with, Mr. Andreev,” he mumbled. “But I suppose you're right. For once. By now the king had killed 1,000 women. Once in his chambers, Scheherazade asked to say a final goodbye to her sister, who was secretly prepared to ask Scheherazade to tell a story. Does anyone think they know what happens next?”

Charlie raised his hand eagerly. “The king listens to Scheherazade’s story, but she doesn’t finish it, reminding the king that it was already dawn. So the king spares her life for one more day so she can finish the story, but she starts a second one, and again doesn’t finish it. So the king spares her life for an extra day. This goes on for 1,001 nights until Scheherazade has told him 1,000 tales, and says she has no more to tell him.”

           “Good work, White. Didn’t think you had it in you,” Mr. Harrison admitted. Charlie smiled. “Does anyone know wh—” he began, but Meryl cut him off.

“In those 1,001 nights, the king had fallen in love with Scheherazade, and decided to spare her life and make her his queen,” Meryl concluded.

           Mr. Harrison shrugged, impressed. “Very good. You two know your Persian tales.”

“We’ve studied up a bit on the subject,” Charlie hinted slyly, turning to smile at Meryl, who smiled back and nodded. Mr. Harrison raised an eyebrow, but shook it off. Teenagers.

* * *

 “What do you mean you're not in my class?” Charlie hissed.

           “I'm in honors math!” Meryl exclaimed.

“What? _Why?_ ” Charlie wailed like a lost puppy.

           “Charlie, I'm always on honor roll,” Meryl laughed rolling her eyes.

“So what’s our next class together?” he asked quickly.

           Meryl sighed and pulled his schedule from his hands and compared it to her own. “Lunch.”

“Lunch?! When’s lunch?”

           “In two periods! Calm down! Charlie, just go to the classrooms, don’t talk unless you're called on, and you'll be fine.”

Charlie sighed and watched as Meryl walked into her classroom. That was his goal for this year, he decided. To get into honors math for second semester. It would benefit the both of them, he convinced himself. It wasn’t just because he needed her. He _didn’t_ , he told himself. He didn’t. He just preferred having her with him. He _wanted_ her with him. He wanted _her._ Did he? He liked the idea of being with her…he liked the idea of her in general. But they had always been just friends. And that’s what they would always be, right? But he had all year to figure that out. Hell, he probably had their whole partnership to. It wasn’t like either of them were going to start dating soon. Well, at least _he_ wasn’t. Rather, he didn’t _think_ he would…

 

Before he knew it, it was lunchtime. He raced out of French class and into the cafeteria. Also known as the jungle. There were swarms of teenagers everywhere, and groups and cliques were evident among the lunch tables.

“Charlie! Over here!” Charlie turned and walked over to the table where Scott sat with his arm around Tessa as she leaned against his chest nibbling on her carrots.

           “Hey, where's Meryl?” Charlie asked. Scott nodded towards a table on the other side of the room, where Meryl sat with Michelle and her friend Taylor. “Oh.” Charlie made brief eye contact with Meryl before she whipped her head around.

* * *

 “Meryl! Meryl, are you even listening?” Michelle asked, the annoyance clear in her voice.

           “What, oh, yeah, sorry. I'm just a little distracted.”

“Yeah, by new boy over there? I can tell. What was his name again…”

           “Wasn’t it Charlie?” Taylor offered, not looking up from her phone.

“Charlie! That’s it! And his last name was some color, that I remember.”

           “Was it Green?” Taylor thought. “Or was it Black?”

“No, I'm pretty sure it was Brown,” Michelle supplied.

           “Charlie Brown?” Meryl asked. “Seriously? No, it’s White.”

Michelle raised an eyebrow. “How do _you_ know?”

           “Mr. Harrison?”

“Oh. Right. You and Chuck over there are the smart asses of Persian tales, I forgot.”

           Meryl rolled her eyes. “We went to elementary school together, and we read a children’s version of it, okay? Get over it.”

Michelle’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Anyway…are you going to that dance next week? They're choosing new contestants. I hope Derek finally chooses me this time.”

           “Michelle, there's a reason Derek didn’t choose you before. He’s a Hough. They like to win. Besides, I wouldn’t get involved with that school or anyone in it.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Are you going or not? The dance isn’t at the school, anyway,” Michelle reasoned.

           Meryl shook her head. “Sorry. I have a competition.” Before Michelle could make another crude remark on how skating was pointless compared to a party, Meryl got up, threw out her leftovers, and walked straight past Charlie, brushing her hand briefly against his forearm; the scent of her perfume and her strawberry shampoo trailing behind her enough to hypnotize Charlie to a point where he fazed out completely from Scott’s hockey talk.

Meryl worked so hard to avoid the troublemakers that were the rival school. She tried especially hard to avoid Dance Till You Drop. She thought the competition was stupid, and yet they had it twice a year. But, Derek had helped her and Charlie choreograph their new short dance, so she knew they'd probably get dragged in. But she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t ready to go against all the rules she had set up for herself for the past four years. She wasn’t ready to not have Charlie as her partner. She had great expectations for her senior year. And they included Charlie. And _only_ Charlie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me if the first few chapters seem drone-ish...I can't wait to get to the middle...where all the drama is :)


	3. The Name Of The Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meryl has doubts about a promise she makes to Derek, and no matter what Charlie says to convince her otherwise, she can't help thinking she just signed them up for disaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear, Dance Till You Drop is the equivalent to DWTS in this universe :)

"Meryl! Meryl, hey!" Meryl looked up from her phone and moved her head around to see Derek Hough jogging towards her. Meryl slithered away from Charlie, whose arm was casually around her shoulder, and stepped away from him, Tessa, and Scott.

           "Derek. What are you doing here?" Meryl asked quietly.

"I just wanted to make sure you and Charlie are good with the choreo for your free dance."

           "Yeah," Meryl nodded curtly. "We're fine. Thanks for your help."

"Yeah, no problem," Derek waved it off. "Anyway, I was _thinking_ , if you guys win your competition this weekend, it means that my choreography even works on figure skaters." Meryl raised an eyebrow. "I know how that sounds. But we realized we need a few more people for this semester's Dance Till You Drop."

           "Uh-uh. No way. Derek, first of all, Charlie and I are ice dancers, not... _land_ dancers. Second, our schools are rivals."

"Which is what'll make it so much more interesting!"

           "But you're supposed to be choosing people this weekend!"

"When you guys aren't gonna be here," Derek pointed out.

           "I'm sure Michelle would love to participate," Meryl retorted stubbornly.

"Yeah....I don't think we can assign Michelle a partner that can put up with her that long," Derek laughed.

           Meryl snorted. "Okay, fine. I'll make you a deal. I'll talk to Charlie. And if he agrees, we'll do it, _if_ we win gold."

Derek beamed. "I _knew_ you would. Meryl, you're the best. I have to go; I have to pick up Julianne from dance since she wrecked her car and all. She'll kill me if I'm late, but I'll call you later!" Derek jogged back to his car, and Meryl waved after him.

           "What the hell was that all about, Ms. Stay-Away-From-The-Rival-School?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, I thought you didn't like anyone at that school," Tessa added.

           "Um...well, Derek helped us with some choreography for our free dance," Meryl offered weakly.

"Yeah, but why was he talking to you?" Charlie asked suspiciously.

           "Oh, my God! What is with all these questions!" Meryl exclaimed. "Can we just go practice? I need to skate a bit and clear my head." Her three friends held their hands up, backing off, and piled in silently into her car.

* * *

            "Ow," Meryl complained, hitting her head as she fell against the hardwood floor. Tessa and Scott had their on-ice run through with Marina first, so Meryl and Charlie were practicing in the dance studio.

Charlie sighed and walked over to hit pause on the music. "Mer, what the hell is going on. And don't say nothing, because I won't believe you."

           Meryl sat up and exhaled heavily, giving in. "Okay, fine. You know that dance competition they do every semester?"

"Dance Till You Drop? Yeah, Derek's like the most popular kid in school because of it, why?"

           "So," Meryl began, staring intently at the laces on her sneakers, "Derek says they need a few more people--"

"Did you introduce him to Michelle?" Charlie interrupted, laughing his ringing laugh, which only made Meryl's heart crunch even more.

           "He said he wanted us to do it," she said suddenly. _Short and sweet, right? Like ripping off a Band-Aid,_ she told herself.

Charlie stood in shock for a minute, his jaw dropped wide open. "Wh-What did you say? You said no, right?" Meryl sat silent, unable to speak. "Oh, my God, Mer!"

           "Hey, hey, hey." Meryl held up a hand. "Wait. I _didn't_ say yes--"

"So you said no," Charlie cut in.

           Meryl cocked her head to the side. "Well...not exactly..."

Charlie threw his arms into the air. "For God's sake, what did you tell him?"

           Meryl sighed. "I said that I would talk to you first, obviously, and if you agreed, we would do it--" Charlie opened his mouth, but Meryl continued before he had a chance to say anything, "if we won gold."

Charlie nodded, taking it in. "Then we have to win gold."

           "What? Excuse me, what? That should be our goal with Derek or not."

Charlie shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant. Come on, Mer, it sounds fun!"

           "Fun? Fun?! It means more practice hours then we already have, abandoning everything we've learned for the past 6 years. And it means giving into the enemy."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Mer, seriously? They're not the _enemy_."

           "You say that now," Meryl mumbled stubbornly, kicking the foot of a stool with her toe.

“Don’t be ridiculous. It could be fun! It could help you loosen up!” Meryl glared at him. “You’ve been really stressed lately,” he tried to explain.

           “I wonder why. Hmm, I don’t know, maybe because _Regionals is in less than a week,_ ” Meryl spat.

Charlie walked over to her and put his hands firmly on her shoulders. “Mer, I know that’s now why you're scared to do the competition. Tell me the truth. The _real_ truth.”

           “I'm scared,” she muttered, staring intently on the scruff mark on Charlie's sneaker.

“Of what?”

           Meryl shrugged, still not looking at him. “I'm used to having you as my partner. I don’t know. I guess I'm not ready to give that up. It’s out of my comfort zone.”

Charlie pulled Meryl's chin up with his finger. “Mer, we’re not breaking up. We’re still gonna be training. I'm always gonna be your partner, okay?” Meryl nodded, and Charlie pulled her tightly against his chest. “Besides, do you really think I’ll let any random dude be your temporary partner?” he laughed, the rumbling movement of his body echoing softly in Meryl's ear as she smiled against his shoulder. “Now come on. It’s our ice time.”

* * *

 “No, Meryl, _no_!” Marina scolded. “What happen to you today? What Charlie do? What test you have today?”

           “I...I’m sorry, Marina, I'm just having an off day.”

Marina scoffed. “I’ll say. You must get back before Friday.”

           Meryl nodded in understanding. “Okay.”

“Now,” Marina snapped, clapping loudly and making a distracted Charlie jump. “One more run-through. I help Fedor with science project tonight,” Marina sighed, rolling her eyes.

           _Don’t mess up now, mess up on Friday,_ Meryl thought. _No, damn you, Davis. Don’t mess up at all. Don’t risk your chances just to get out of dance. You're better than that._ Smarter _than that._

 _Don’t you dare,_ Meryl felt a new set of thoughts interrupt hers. She turned her head and looked at Charlie, who was already staring at her.

           _Damn you, White._ _Get out of my head. Literally._

 _Can’t,_ Charlie thought back. _But you better not mess this up. By the way, should I trim my hair before Friday? I couldn’t see anything during the twizzles._

           Meryl furrowed her brow. _What? No. Yes. I don’t know! Ask your mom!_

“Stop!” Marina called out, and Meryl crashed into Charlie. “Meryl. Go home and sleep. No homework. No TV. Sleep. You need it.” Meryl nodded solemnly. Marina shifted her stern eyes to Charlie. “You,” she pointed, and Charlie's head perked up. “Trim hair.” Charlie's face flushed, and Meryl bit her lip to stop her laughter.

* * *

 The drive home and the walk through the door was a complete blur for Meryl. She felt like a programmed zombie-robot, only stopping to say hi to her parents and yell at Clayton for leaving his stuff in her room again. She laid down flat on the bed and thought. Just thought.

            She wanted to do well at Regionals, she really did. She wanted them to make their senior debut next season. But she had also made Derek a promise. Sure, she could say Charlie hadn’t agreed, but no one would’ve believed that. And she just couldn’t. Say. No. After everything Derek had done for them, they owed him this, right?

But she _hated_ dance competitions. Skating competitions were enough pressure alone, and that was something she was actually good at. How was she expected to do 10 weeks of dancing? While still keeping up with skating? What about Charlie? Would they drift apart? Would he prefer his dance partner over her? Would she have to compete _against_ him instead of together?

           Her head started to pound, and eventually the thoughts got to her as her eyelids started to droop like a bulldog’s. She felt like she was tricking Derek. Robbing Charlie.

 

Cheating. Deceit. That was the name of the game. And she could barely live with herself because of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, ignore the note at the end. I can't get rid of it and it's really bugging me.


	4. How Can I Be Sure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The most important and decisive day had arrived: Regionals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi okay so first of all, I'm SO sorry I haven't updated in like a month. This chapter took a while to write, (as you can probably tell because I feel like it's very repetitive in some places and very floppy but whatever) and then I just started losing motivation and inspiration. However, I refuse to just cut it off, so I *will* finish this and For Now, For Always (but not at the same time, sorry :/). So updates might be once every week or less, if we're lucky. :)

"Meryl, honey, time to get up," Cheryl said sweetly as she knocked on her daughter's hotel door. "Oh, you're already awake! Good job. Now come on." She patted Meryl's legs under her blanket. "Get dressed. It's competition day."

 _As if she hadn't been awake all night, unable to sleep. In that case, she sure as hell was awake._ "I don't wanna," Meryl groaned.

"Meryl! Come on! Charlie can't do this by himself! Besides, you've been looking forward to Regionals since last season ended! It's your last Regionals as a junior. You should be excited!" Cheryl left the room before Meryl could reply to let her get ready.

* * *

 Five minutes later, there was an annoying tapping on her door. _Is there a fucking woodpecker here?_ She asked herself, prepared to kill whoever was on the other side of that door. Especially if it was Clayton.

           "Hey, Mer--oh..." Charlie's exuberant face dropped as he met his partner's sleep-deprived death glare.

"What. Do you want. White." Meryl sighed through gritted teeth, her eyes pressed shut.

           "Um..." Charlie began, his eyes focused on Meryl's hair, which looked like it could house a family of baby birds.

"Stop looking at my hair and tell me what you want," Meryl spat.

           "Oh...uh...I just wanted to see if you were ready. Oh, also, er, Derek's here."

" _WHAT?_ " Meryl screeched as her eyes shot open.

"Yeah, um, he just showed up with Marina..."

           "Of course he did," Meryl muttered, rolling her eyes. "Okay, that's it. White, you're helping me."

Charlie barely had time to say, "Wait, what?" Before he felt Meryl's arm jerk him into her hotel room.

           In seconds Meryl was flying about the room while Charlie stood dumbfounded in the center as clothes and hairpins and makeup bags were tossed into his hands. Meryl disappeared into her closet and came out in her pink free dance dress in a matter of seconds.

"How did you..." Charlie began.

           "Shh--don't talk. Zip me up?" Meryl held up her hair and put a hand on her hip as Charlie sighed and fumbled with the pile of stuff he was holding before putting it flat on the floor and pulling the zipper up Meryl's back. Her skin shone in the daylight coming in from the window, and Charlie lingered a little bit longer at the top of the zipper, which was only halfway down her back.

"Zipper's stuck..." Charlie stammered. Meryl's back arched at the touch of Charlie's cold hand, but said nothing. Because she knew the zipper wasn't stuck. She knew what he was doing. And in all honesty, she didn't care. In fact, she didn't even mind. You could almost say she liked it. No, she scolded herself. You can't think like that. Ever. Especially today.

"Uh, Meryl?" Charlie squeaked.

           Meryl's head jolted up and she released her hair as she realized Charlie had finally finished with her zipper. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

 "It's just you two out there," Marina told them as they stretched. "You two have power to make it or break it. No one come between."

           Meryl and Charlie nodded in understanding as they were called out for their warm up. Charlie fumbled to reach Meryl's hand as they pushed off into a few warm up laps. _Shit_ , he thought. _Shit, shit,_ _shit_. Something was up. Charlie _never_ had to search for Meryl's hand. It was always there. All he had to do was clasp it, and they clicked like a buckle. But this time was different. _Something_ was up.

She was determined not to let it get to her. She was determined not to let Charlie know what she was thinking. But they had that connection; he probably knew something was wrong. Unless he was having an off day, where she could straightforwardly tell him something and he still wouldn't understand. In which case, they had a problem, because she was having one of those days. And if neither of them were even on the page they were supposed to be on, then they were in trouble. Anything was at risk to go wrong.

           She wanted to win. She did. But she knew that would mean going on Dance Till You Drop. Which sounded fun.... well, sort of. She was used to having Charlie by her side. She _liked_ having him by her side. She _needed_ him there. She wasn't prepared for this. She should've told Derek no. She had half the mind to purposely mess up. But she wouldn't do that to Charlie. To them. She had to let the chips fall where they may.

 _You okay, Mer?_ Charlie thought.

 _Fine,_ she thought back.

_Don't lie to me. What's going on?_

_Nothing,_ she repeated, rubbing her thumb over his knuckle.

Charlie knew she wasn't going to tell him, so he decided to drop it. The last thing he was trying to do was anger her when she was already worked up. _Just focus,_ he told her. _It's just you and me. Don't worry about anything else but the steps._ Meryl squeezed his hand in understanding before they were called off the ice.

           The other four couples in their group seemed to fly by, and Charlie held his head in his hands, and rested his elbows on the boards as he watched Meryl pace back and forth from the corner of his eye.

"She represents the Arctic Figure Skating Club in Canton, Michigan, he the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Here are Meryl Davis and Charlie White."

           Charlie lifted his head, as his hands went numb and all the blood rushed to his head. Meryl felt a chill down her spine as she took Charlie's hand and they took their opening spots.

Their music began, and Meryl felt a piercing coldness in her chest. _You want this,_ she told herself. _Focus, dammit_.

           She skated, as she normally would, except with a little shakiness in her legs, especially as Charlie cautiously pulled her into their first lift.

Charlie was more worried about Meryl losing focus than making a mistake himself. He knew she wanted this as much as he did. Or at least that's what he hoped. But he trusted her. And she trusted him. And that's why they were here.

Time seemed to fly by and Meryl and Charlie were in their own little daze when they hit their ending pose. They had done it. And it had been absolutely flawless.

* * *

 As they stepped off the ice, they were greeted by their mothers, Tessa and Scott, and an exuberant Marina.

           "Where's Derek?" Meryl asked, panting. Charlie's shoulders tensed.

"Oh, he had to leave. Something about his sister," Scott explained. Meryl nodded before Marina led her and Charlie into the Kiss & Cry.

           "The scores for Meryl Davis and Charlie White, please," the announcer requested. "The free dance score for Davis and White is 62.7. They are in first place with a total score of 160.8." They won. They _won_. They had just won Regionals. They were going to Sectionals.

"Oh, my god," Charlie whispered, shocked.

           "Oh, my god," Meryl echoed, as if she was about to faint.

"We're going to Sectionals!" Charlie told her excitedly, as if she didn't know. He lunged forward and nearly knocked her off the bench as he gave her a tight hug. Meryl squeezed him back gingerly but enough for him to feel her hand on his shoulder.

           The final standings were announced, but Meryl and Charlie weren't listening. They were too busy smiling at each other like lovesick fools. They barely even heard Marina tell them they had ten minutes before the medals and that they had to get ready.

* * *

 Meryl walked into the bathroom on her wobbly legs and leaned against the sink. She was happy. She was relieved. But she was also scared. She felt a knot in the pit of her stomach, which had only slightly loosened with their new win. But it tightened instantly when she remembered the promise she made Derek. He had left early, so maybe she still had a chance to talk Charlie out of it. Maybe Derek wouldn't even find out about the win. Hell, who was she kidding? Charlie had probably already posted about it on his MySpace. She was about to go back out when her phone beeped.

 

_Glad to have you two onboard! Oh, and congrats on the win! ;) -Derek_

 

           _Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Dammit, Charlie,_ she thought. _Dammit._ She pushed the bathroom door back open, nearly hitting a crying girl on her way in. The ice dance silver medalist. Meryl recognized her instantly, and hurried out when the girl have her a seething death glare.

 

"Hey Mer, where'd you go?" Charlie asked cheerily when Meryl joined him in their assigned position for the medals.

 

           "Bathroom," she said simply, still staring blankly at a patch of ice.

 

"Okay...." Charlie trailed off, following her gaze to the ice with a puzzled look. "I told—"

 

           "I know," she cut him off.

 

"How did you—"

 

           "He texted me," she interrupted again.

 

"Are you—" he began, only to be cut off once more.

 

           "Mad? Nope. Not one bit."

 

"Are you—" he tried again, and Meryl curtly turned to him. Okay, now this was starting to get annoying.

 

           "Charlie, I don't know, okay? I don't know how I'm feeling right now. I'm happy we just won, but I'm also scared. Can we just enjoy that we just won Regionals? Please?" Charlie nodded. "Thank you." Meryl turned forward again, and Charlie took notice of the little crinkle that had appeared at her forehead.

 

Did he make the right decision signing up for this stupid competition? Did _they_ made the right choice? He was starting to feel the uncertainty that had been burdening Meryl for days now, and Meryl sensed it. But they were in. And there was no turning back. There was only hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst.


	5. A Different Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meryl and Charlie meet their new partners, which brings in surprising feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And enter Maks and Sharna! I'm sooo sorry I haven't posted since...Thanksgiving? Oops. I've been super duper busy and above that I'm extremely stressed, so yes, it did take me this long to write this. I'm sorry. :)  
> Also I'm sorry this is so short! It's probably the shortest chapter I've ever written! Whoopsies...

"Are you nervous?" Charlie asked cautiously, his eyes intently focused on his partner's slender fingers gripping on for dear life onto the hem of her dress.

         "No... why would you think that?" Meryl snapped in reply, keeping her gaze straight ahead.

"Maybe because you've been fidgeting all morning?"

         "Okay, I am! All right? I am. I really am."

"Why? Mer, it's a just another competition. It's no different than what you've been doing for the past 10 years."

         Now she turned to look at him, and the glare she gave him made him wish she never had. "No, it's not the same! Actually, it couldn't be more different. I have heels instead of my skates, I have to learn something new every week instead of going with what I know for a few months, _and_ not to mention the fact that I'm gonna have a completely different partner! No, Charlie, it is _not_ the same." At that, Charlie stayed mum, and the rest of the car ride was in silence.

* * *

 "Meryl! Charlie!" Derek greeted when he saw them come in. He walked away from the girl he was standing next to, and Meryl immediately recognized her. Amy Purdy. She had graduated a few years before, but it was safe to say she had the most whirlwind senior year out of everyone.

         "Hi!" Charlie greeted enthusiastically in reply, while Meryl quickly plastered a smile onto her face.

"Are you guys ready to get your partners?"

         "As ready as I'll ever be," Meryl mumbled.

"Meryl, you have nothing to worry about. I'm sure you're all gonna get along great. Charlie, you're first. We just have to take some pictures of all the pairings for the school newspaper." Charlie nodded and followed Derek as he walked over to a petite redhead.

 

 

"Hi!" She greeted. "I'm Sharna!"

         "Hey," Charlie greeted sheepishly. "Charlie."

"Derek told me _all_ about you," she smirked.

         "Uh oh," Charlie laughed nervously. He really didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Sharna laughed loudly, and Charlie could feel Meryl's gaze on them. "No, no, don't worry. All good things."

         "Oh, phew. I wasn't sure if Meryl had told him anything about me," he joked. Well, half-joked. He made a fool of himself _way_ too often for Meryl to keep all the funny moments to herself. "Where are you from, by the way?"

"Australia! My best friend Peta—" she pointed to the blonde across the room that was getting her picture taken with James, a guy Charlie recognized from TV, "—we've been doing practically everything together for a long time."

         "Oh! Kinda like me and Meryl!"

Sharna chuckled. "Kinda." Charlie didn't understand how that was funny, but then again he didn't understand most things girls said or thought. "Oh, we're up! Straighten your bow tie."

* * *

 Meanwhile, Meryl stood nervously against the wall as she waited for her partner when a large (and kind of handsome) man walked over to her.

"Hi...Meryl?" He asked cautiously.

         "Yeah?"

"I'm Maksim. I'm your new partner. Well, you can call me Maks. Not that many people call me Maksim," he rambled nervously.

         Meryl cringed internally at the phrase 'new partner' and it was unfortunately the same time Maks held his arms out for a greeting hug, before clearing his throat awkwardly and offering her his hand, which she took quickly. "I'm...a little out of my comfort zone, I'm sorry," she told him.

"Oh. Yeah, I get it. It's all right. I promise though, you're gonna have fun here."

         "You have a very distinct accent," she observed, before clasping her hand to her mouth as Maks burst out laughing. "Oh, my gosh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry," she giggled. "I'm just big on language and culture."

"That was a first. Actually, me and my brother, Val…that one over there. Yeah. The one standing next to Danica McKellar. We're originally from Ukraine."

         "Really? Oh, wow. That’s neat. Uh, I can speak a little Russian?" She laughed. "I'm sorry that's the closest I've got."

"Hey, Meryl?"

         "Hmm?"

"I know we just met, but, I think we're gonna get along just fine."

        "You know what? I think you're right. And we might just have fun along the way," she smirked, and Maks laughed. This time, Meryl saw Charlie stiffen from across the room, but she didn't care. He had wanted her to loosen up, and now she finally was. She just didn't think it would be thanks to her partner. Her _new_ partner, that is.

**Author's Note:**

> Short, I know, but it's only the intro :)


End file.
